The sun had set when Sasha and Hunter decided it was time to leave the woods and head back to the settlement.
"Do you have somewhere to spend the night?" Sasha asked.
"Yeah," Hunter nodded. "I found this empty shack not too far from your place," said Hunter.
"The one with the brown roof?"
"Er ... Yes?"
"Careful, I hear they're ghosts in there."
Hunter smiles. "Please, I'm known as the exorcist for a reason."
Sasha shakes her head. "Sure. When will we meet again?"
"You can hear my thoughts, right? I'll let you know."
Sasha nods. "Also, be careful when going around town. My ... sisters might recognize you," she said.
Hunter nodded and with that, the two of them went their separate ways. The ecru-haired girl placed her hand on the side of her head, it no longer hurt and for the first time in forever she felt very happy.
'Hunter ...' She thought but then stopped when she saw one of her sisters sitting on the branch of a tree.
"Hachimura."
The blonde-haired girl dropped from the tree to her feet. "So that's it, huh?" She started. "He's the reason you always head to the woods and why you've been acting suspicious."
Sasha frowns. "How about you mind your own business," she said walking past the blue-eyed girl.
"Hm. Maybe I should pay him a visit," Hachimura said.
Sasha stops and a smile appears on the blonde woman's face. "What do you want?"
"How come you were the only one that escaped?" Hachimura asked.
"What does it matter to you?" Sasha asked.
"I just want to know what happened."
"What's going on here?" A third voice asked.
The two girls turned to the speaker and Sasha's face immediately turned pale. "Master," Hachimura started. "The mission went horribly. Only Sasha survived and I was trying to get her to tell me what happened."
"Why didn't you tell her anything?" The man asked Sasha. "I th -- thought --" she stuttered. He turned to Hachimura. "How many times do I have to tell you this, Ai," he started. "In this establishment, in my establishment, respect is an important element. As the senior, whatever question you ask this girl should be responded to immediately, that is the least respect you deserve. Do you know what it means if she refuses to respond to such a simple question?"
"..."
"..."
"I asked you a question, Ai."
"It means she doesn't respect me."
"Exactly and if she cannot respect the rank, you must beat the respect into her." The man turned and struck Sasha with a knee to her midriff. He followed the strike with a right punch, then a left punch, and then a kick to the middle of the chest that sent the ecru-haired girl to the ground on her back.
"Get up," he ordered. "Get up, you embarrassing waste of space."
Sasha got back up to her feet, the purple-eyed girl's face was bruised but that didn't stop the man. He moved forward once more and kicked the ecru-haired girl on the knee which caused her to stagger back into a tree. The man then began punching the purple-eyed girl's face, not stopping until she was down and out.
*MEANWHILE*
Hunter pushes the door to the shack open. "Any ghosts or darklings here?" He shouted.
The sprite felt the energy of another behind and quickly jumped back into a fight stance but the person moved quickly too, tackling the teal green-eyed boy to the ground before he could do anything. Hunter tried to move but felt a cold steel on his neck.
'Woah!'
[Wow.]
"Who is it?" It was dark so the sprite couldn't see the speaker but he could tell from the voice it was a female. "Who's your employer?" She asked. "Is it the HSS?" She continued. "Or the BRF?" She asked.
"I don't even know what that is," said Hunter.
"Then who do you work for?" She asked.
"Myself?"
"Don't lie to me! I'll use this on you, I swear," she threatened.
"I don't know what you want from me!"
"Who's your employer? How did you find me? What's your name?"
"I -- That's three different questions! Which one of those should I respond to first?!"
"You must not value your life," said the girl as she pushed the blade into the teal green-eyed boy's skin.
"Hold on! I work for myself. I did not know you were here and came because I thought this place was empty so I could stay the night. And my name is Hunter Heffernan."
"Now you b -- did you just say your name was Hunter Heffernan?" She asked.
"Yes?"
"Woo!" The girl chanted, releasing the dark-haired sprite from her grip before running to turn on a flashlight in a corner of the room.
Hunter got up from the ground and wiped the dust from his clothes before looking at the girl. "Wow! It actually is you!" She exclaimed.
The lady had cinnamon red hair with honey honey-brown eye and a brown medical eyepatch over her left eye. She had freckles across her cheeks and nose and from below her neck, disappearing into the plunged neckline of her top.
Hunter's eyebrows furrowed. "Sorry. Have we met before?" The confused sprite asked.
"No," she said extending her hand towards the teal green-eyed boy. "I'm Aislinn Devitt," she said, somewhat excitedly.
"Nice to meet you, Aislinn," Hunter said shaking the girl's hand.
"Sorry about all that I thought you were someone else."
"Yeah ... I thought so."
"I thought you were dead? I'm a big, big, fan by the way," she said.
"You thought I was dead? Did the Bureau announce my death to the entire realm?"
"No, but the Public Safety and Demon Control agency put out a statement in your honor."
"How do you know th -- Are you a Public Safety and Demon Control agent?"
"Not at all. I'm a part of --"
Hunter put his finger up signaling the cinnamon red-haired girl to keep quiet. She complies and the sprite suddenly bolts out of the shack. "What the ...?!" Aislinn followed after him, and the dark-haired boy led her to an unconscious lady, lying knocked out next to a tree.
[It's faint but she has a pulse.]
"Is that Sasha?" Aislinn asked.
"You know Sasha? ... You are one of her sisters," Hunter said.
"We're not actually related you know, the whole sister thing is just --" Aislinn paused. "The group is called Retribution," she said.
Hunter scoops the unconscious Sasha from the ground into his arm with Aislinn following closely behind.
"You know about them?"
"Not just that, I used to be a part of them but I left when I found what a terrible person the leader, Baron Hubert is," she revealed.
"Baron Hubert ... That's Sasha's father ... I'm going to need you to tell me everything you know about him."
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